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Quote of the Week: Chinese grab money off the printing press

By Juwai, 09 November 2013

"When Chinese investors come to the US to invest, they pretty much grab the money off the printing machine and come over here to buy cheaper stuff."

Wilson Chen, President of American Pacific International Capital

The Chinese currency has been gaining value over other world currencies like the dollar – that makes foreign investments seem less expensive.

That’s what Wilson Chen is referring to in today’s Quote of the Week.

Chen is President of Portland, Oregon-based American Pacific International Capital, which owns five boutique hotels in downtown San Francisco, as well as commercial real estate and other businesses.

The below currency conversion chart, from XE.com shows how the Chinese currency, the renminbi, can buy more US dollars today than a year and a half ago.

RMB vs USD Forex"Back in 2003, you could buy 8.28 yuan for a dollar, making China’s currency worth only about 12 cents," reports the Economist.

"Since then, China’s authorities have allowed the yuan to rise against the dollar by about 35%."

Currency power isn’t the only force driving Chinese investment overseas.

In fact, it is not even the main one. It does, though, mean they can buy more expensive international properties – and more of them.

Read the story this quote came from at the China Daily.

 

 

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